


Darkness, Can Show You the Light

by TheDarkestDandelion



Series: The Two Immortals [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Ardyn actually giving a shit about someone other then himself, Betrayal, Cor is Okay, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of past child abuse, Oral Sex, Past Underage Sex, Recovery, Secret Relationship, Semi-Public Sex, Understanding, consensual oral sex, hurt Cor, mentions of past rape, protective Ardyn, sex in a bathroom stall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-14 11:56:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16039997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkestDandelion/pseuds/TheDarkestDandelion
Summary: “I am just glad that child abusing fucking rapist, is in the ground where he belongs. He was never a King.”Cor’s eyes immediately looked down to the ground and let go of Ardyn’s hand instantly. Shame washed over him and he could not look at the Chancellor who he was currently in the bathroom stall with. He wanted to be sick. He wanted to run and hide.But no matter how fast he ran, he could never escape the abuse he suffered from the 112th King of Lucis.





	1. Chapter 1

A welcomed cool breeze swept its way through Altissa in the mist of the late afternoon. The change in temperature was much appreciated by all the resistance of Accordo, as they had been struck with scorching heat for the past 5 weeks. The Weather forecast didn’t give them much hope either. It had predicated at least another 3 weeks of the heat with no signs of cooling down. But today was pleasant. The winds had picked up and the clouds had blocked the sun long enough for the temperature to be knocked down a few degrees. It was bliss to the Marshal of the Crownsguard.

He was sitting on a bench looking out to the sea with a cold drink in hand. No one around, as everyone was in doors trying to cool down or in the centre of Altissa shopping. Cor never got to have moments like this. Where he could simply relax and forget about the on-going war with Niflheim. Or the fact that Regis was slowly dying. He could breath and have time to himself.

So, he thought...

“In Atissa are we? I would have thought you would have at least told me you were here Marshal.”

A mocking and cheerful voiced filled Cor’s ears. Cor didn’t even have to look to known that the Chancellor of Niflheim had taken it upon himself to sit next to him on the bench and had swung an arm over the top of it. The Marshal also knew that he was smiling at him. It took a lot for Cor not to roll is eyes in frustration. Why was he here?

“Busy.” Cor stated before quickly taking a sip of this drink. He wasn’t really in the mood for playing games.

Ardyn then moved his arm and lent forward to try and get into the Marshal’s line of vision. He still hadn’t looked at him. But to the Chancellor it was all part of the challenge. _‘Getting the stoned face Marshal to a knowledge his existence’_ was just one of the many games Ardyn found himself playing. The other man never amused him by knowingly playing along. It was something to pass the time. “Are you now? We both know it isn’t work. Why are you here?”

Cor let out a sigh and gave his attention to the man who craved it above everything else. He turned to directly look in the Chancellor’s golden eyes. However, he did not smile. He did not blink. He just stared before replying to the insane man.

“To tell a vain mother fucker he’s an Ass Hat.”

“Ha, ha, ha. Well, I would have to agree with you on that score my lovely.” Ardyn laughed playfully hitting Cor’s on the back. Lucky for him, the Marshal was holding his drink firmly, otherwise it would have gone all over Cor. No one wanted to deal with an angry Cor Leonis. Not even Ardyn wanted to deal with that.

Cor shook his head. Why did he even talk to this man? By law, during War time, the Marshal of the Crownsguard wasn’t even allowed to have direct contact with the Chancellor of Niflheim. Oh well, just another illegal thing Cor seemed to be getting away with. “How have you been?”

“I have feelings now do I? I have been alright a little tired if I am honest. What I wouldn’t give to have a full week in bed.”

“All depends how long you got off this time.”

“Why, do you want to share that bed with me, Marshal?” Ardyn asked smirking. He knew the answer to that question. He just wanted to see the reaction on the younger man’s face. But as the seconds went by, it became apparent he wasn’t going to get one. Cor just stared at him like he always did when he asked him awkward questions. It didn’t matter though they always ended up sharing a bed after meetings like this. “Ha, ha, ha. I truly am blessed. Three weeks off this time. How about you my dear?”

“On my second week. Got two more left.”

“I get the Marshal of the Crownsguard to myself for two full weeks. Oh, I am over joyed to hear that.”

**XV**

“This is a little bit spontaneous my dear.”

“Haven’t done anything in 4 mouths.”

Ardyn laughed at that. This was very uncharacteristic for the Marshal of the Crownsguard. Pushing the Chancellor around was something that Cor did. But he had never pushed him into a dirty public bathroom stall in broad daylight to have sex before. Being over 2000 years old, Ardyn got bored relatively quickly, but he liked this new side of the Marshal. Maybe he should put off having sex with him more often to see the limits Cor would go to. 

“Oh you poor thing! Sorry, I can’t help it if I am busy. Neither can you.” Ardyn voice was plastered with sarcasm as he touched Cor’s face with his hand. He smiled at him with hungry eyes. Thinking over it though, Ardyn could not imagine making Cor wait any longer than 4 mouths. He could hardly contain himself as it was. “A bathroom stall? Do I look like a needy whore, Leonis?”

“Yeah. Now shut up.” Cor said smashing his lips against the Chancellor’s, forcing the wine haired man up against the wall. Ardyn hummed with delight. Smiling under the kiss and wrapped his arms around the Marshal neck pulling him into a tighter embrace. As their bodies collided, Ardyn felt his erection grow. Maybe he did starve himself a little too long of Cor’s touch. Ardyn felt a little embarrassed. After 2000 years, he thought it would take a lot longer for him to get excited. But the younger man had manged to achieve it in little less than 10 minutes. 

Cor, felt the erection brush against his own dick and felt the bulge in the others man’s pants slowly begin to grow. No. Not today. If Cor left Ardyn as he was, he knew the older man would take him within minutes. Instead Cor let go on Ardyn’s lips and quickly knelt on the ground, pulling down his lover’s trousers and underwear in the process. The Wine haired man smiled and softly stroked the short hairs on Cor’s head.

“Oh My Marshal, this is a little bit public don’t you think?” Ardyn didn’t get a vocal reply.

Instead, the Marshal of the Crownsguard started to violently attack his inner thighs with his teeth and tongue, biting and licking harshly against the skin. It made Ardyn chuckle rather than yelp in pain. Yes, the sharp bites should have hurt. But he was so used to pain it just felt like he was being tickled now. Then he started to move up towards his dick and all Ardyn could do was look down at Cor, wondering what he would do next. Cor did like to surprise him. It could be at least a couple of moments before he decided he was going to take him into his mouth. If he was going to do that at all.

Ardyn continued to stroke Cor’s hair before sighing lightly. “I mean just about anyone can walk in here and you have no way of preventing that from happening.”

Cor just ignored him and then licked the head of Ardyn’s sensitive erection making Ardyn gasp. He barely had time to recover as Cor placed the entire thing in his mouth and started to aggressively suck at it. He held Ardyn’s hips and continued to suck at his lover’s cock and groaned around the harden cock forcing Ardyn to let out a moan.

The Chancellor breathed out and tangled his fingers into Cor’s short hair trying his hardest to get a firm grip, so he could pull the Marshal in closer when need. “Oh. Marshal that is delightful. You really don’t care do you? I do love that about you. Haa-. You really are going for it.” Ardyn moaned as he started to pull and push at Cor’s head to get him to move his mouth around his cock more. Cor was more than happy to oblige. His grip on Ardyn’s hip grew tighter and bobbed his head in rhythm of Ardyn forcing his head to move.

“Cor- Haa- This is wonderful. Don’t stop-” Ardyn threw his head back in pleasure as he started to rock his hips in time with the rhythm, forcing his cock further into Cor’s throat. Ardyn fought back a moan as he felt the groan around his throbbing member that was now mercilessly being thrust down his lover’s throat. “Cor- Haa- Gods! That’s good!”

This only made Cor’s grip tighter on Ardyn’s hips. There was no doubt he was going to bruise there. Cor then had to move his head quicker to catch up with Ardyn’s hard and quick thrust that he was forcing down his throat. That was going to hurt in a few hours. He didn’t care. All he could hear was Ardyn sharp and little gasps as Cor sucked and ran his teeth over the cock that was being pushed and pulled in and out of his mouth.

The Marshal smiled and took one final long suck on his cock, forcing Ardyn to come undone and cum into his mouth. Ardyn cried out in pleasure and breathed in and out catching his breath from the high that he had received from younger of the two. The Marshal swallowed all of it. He finally let go of Ardyn’s cock and licked his lips and allowed Ardyn to rest his head against his.

Cor never understood why, but each time they had sex, Ardyn insisted he rest his forehead against him. The Marshal just took it as the norm and allowed the wine haired man to nuzzle his face into his hair as he calmed himself down.

The Immortal Accused felt the scourge slowly go through Cor and back into him. Ardyn realised over the years if he healed someone with the scourge directly after they had been infected with it, the individual would not feel or sense a thing. This came in handy after having sex, as Cor was still none the wiser to his affliction. Nor was he going to be. After a minute or so, Ardyn was satisfied all the scourge was gone from the Marshal, and then kissed the top of his head, like he always did to tell him he was ready to stop ‘hugging’ him.

“You never seize to amaze me Cor.” Ardyn smiled lightly moving his head so that the Marshal could stand up.

“Good.” Cor commented kissing Ardyn’s thigh one last time, before pulling up his lover’s clothes. He then stood up to full height again and kissed the Chancellor on the lips before Ardyn could say another word.

The Chancellor let out a small laugh. He had no idea what had gotten into the stone cold faced Marshal. But he was enjoying every second of this. He rested both his hands on Cor’s hips and pulled him in a little closer towards him. Cor was not a touchy-feely person. But today Ardyn was going to push his luck. He lent forward and caught his lips with Cor’s and relaxed when Cor placed his hands around the back of his neck to make the kiss deeper.  

They stayed like this for a moment. Lips locked and wrapped up in each other’s embraced. It confused Ardyn slightly. Cor wouldn’t let him do this. This was a very unusual behaviour and Ardyn didn’t know how to react to this change in behaviour. The Wine hair man then pulled his lips away from the others man and started into his blue eyes. “We certainly need to do that again sometime. I like the feeling of unknown. But maybe not in a dirty public toilet next time.”

Cor raised his eyebrows at him. “So, you’re not concerned we had sex in a public toilet. You are annoyed we had sex in one that isn’t that clean?”

“Of course, darling. I have class you know.”

This time Cor did roll his eyes. He let go of Ardyn, smiling and shaking his head as he moved away from the Chancellor’s grasp. What the hell was this man doing to him? Still he had another 2 weeks with the mad man. Cor had no idea what they were going to get up to in that time. Ardyn didn’t react when Cor pulled away. He was a fool to think that the odd behaviour would last for much longer then it had. So instead he reached for the bathroom stall lock so that they could leave. But before he got a chance to unlock it Cor grabbed his hand and pulled it away from the door.

“Wait! Can you hear that.”

Both men stopped and remained silent for a few moments. Cor was right, they could hear footsteps. Coming towards the restroom. Very loud and very quick footsteps making their way to the restroom. The Chancellor placed a finger to his lips to tell the Marshal to be quiet. He knew Cor wasn’t stupid, but he definitely did not want the Marshal to get fired over this. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. Oh well, live and learn. The door to the restroom then crashed opened. Voices soon came flooding through the room as well. Wait a second. Cor recognised those voices. No…

No, no, no, no, no.


	2. Chapter 2

"What Cid, I’m busy. You know how many customers you could be making me lose.”

Weskham’s voice was unmistakable. Not long after that Cid’s voice responded.

“You have other bar staff.”

This was great. Just fucking great. The Marshal of the Crownsguard was stuck in a bathroom stall with the Infamous Chancellor Izunia, along with two of his closest friends literally standing outside the door. Things could not get much worse. Cor held his breath for a moment. This was not good. One wrong step and quiet literally his entire life would be gone. If Wesk or Cid caught him, Regis and Clarus would find out. The Emperor would find out. Cor would lose his job and be exiled. Ardyn would probably be executed for sleeping with the enemy. It was vital that neither of them; spoke, made a noise or, above all else, got caught.

Cor was dragged from his thoughts as Wesk spoke again. This time sounding far more annoyed then before.

“Not the point. You can’t drag me from work. What do you want?”

“Reggie wants to know why ya have been lyin’ to him.”

“WHAT! Why would I lie to Regis? I have got nothing to hide. Why does he think that?”

“You haven’t been, have ya? Where’s Cor then Wesk? You told him he was stayin' with ya while he was in Altissa. I can’t find him.”

Cor held his breath at his name. Why where they talking about him? He hated it when this happened, he felt himself grow nervous as a Wesk refused to answer Cid’s questions.

Ardyn saw his discomfort and did something he had never done with Cor before. He intertwined his hand with Cor's and held on to it tightly. Cor’s first reaction was to push him away, but instead he returned the gestured and squeezed it back. He was grateful to the Chancellor. He would never admit but right then he needed the support.

After a couple of seconds of silence Cid spoke again. “Where is he Wesk? Reg says he has gone off the radar.”

“I don’t know okay. He does this when he is out doing his job. He can look after himself. This is the problem with you, Regis and Clarus, you don’t think he can look after himself. He can. Fucking hell he is 43 years of age, not 13!”

“He’s vulnerable Wesk. You know that!”

“If we keep wrapping him up in cotton wool he will stay that way. I only want what is best for him.”

“Not knowin' where he is, is best for him is it? He needs help Wesk. You know what today is, don’t ya? And what is does to him.”

The Marshal fought the urge to gulp. He knew exactly what today was. Everyone in Lucis knew. In fact, everyone in Eos probably was aware. He did not want to be reminded of it. He came to Accordo just to try and escape it. Without realising it his grip on the Chancellor hand tightened. Ardyn just looked at him from the corner of his eye. He had never seen the Marshal act like this before. He breathed out and just prayed the two gentlemen would leave as quick as they came in.

Wesk soon spoke again. But this time he sounded less annoyed and more concerned and worried. “That’s because we expect him to have a breakdown. If we didn’t he wouldn’t, and he probably would be better in himself.” Wesk stopped for a moment and chose his words very carefully before speaking. “You weren’t there Cid. You left. You have no idea what it feels like knowing that… that was going on right under your own nose. It hurt us, it hurt Cor. It has hurt us all. But you need to allow him to deal with it in his own time.”

“It’s been 25 years Wesk. He has had time. Now he needs to see someone about it.” Cid snapped. He was upset with the entire situation and he couldn’t contain his emotions anymore.

“We all do. What Mors did… I am just glad he died when he did. That man is the scum of this earth.”

At that name Cor clenched his other hand into a fist. _They better not. They damn well better not._

“Why aren’t you concerned where he is then?” Cid said in a confused, yet angry voice.

“I am! Look I am worried. But if we keep looking at him like he is a damaged 16-year-old he is only going to push us all away. Mors hurt him beyond repair and that is mine, Regis and Clarus fault for not looking after Cor well enough. But smothering him is not going to help either.”

“It doesn’t feel right Wesk.”

“No it doesn’t. But what happened… we can’t change that. What Regis, Clarus, you and I have to do is just be there like we have always been. For Cor and all the other people that suffered Mors’ abuse.” Wesk said sadly.

He hated this day they all did. It was the day the former King of Lucis died. Every previous monarch would get a day of celebration of all their achievements on the day of their death. The celebrations would continue to happen every year, until the current monarch died. When Regis dies, Mors' celebrations will stop and Regis will get the lime light. It was a way of keeping the memory of the previous King alive. But Wesk, Regis, Clarus and Cid loathed this day. They always made sure Cor was nowhere near Lucis when it came around every year. They couldn’t stop the celebrations because the people loved their old King, but equally it made them feel sick.

Cid then slammed his fist against the sink making Cor jump a little. Ardyn rubbed his thumb on the youngers man hand to try and calm him down. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but with each word the older men were saying, the Chancellor was slowly beginning to build a picture in his head. He didn’t like it. Not one bit. He could feel a dark pit started to form in his stomach. He hadn’t felt that pit form in over 200 years.

Cid then gritted his teeth together refusing to look at Wesk as he spoke. “I am just glad that child abusing fucking rapist, is in the ground where he belongs. He was never a king.”

Cor’s eyes immediately looked down to the ground and he let go of Ardyn’s hand instantly. Shame washed over him and he could not look at the Chancellor who he was currently in stall with. He wanted to be sick. He wanted to run and hide. But not matter how fast he ran, he could never escape the abuse he suffered from the 112th King of Lucis. But right then in that moment he wanted nothing more than to storm out of there and scream at the older men. It was not their place to say those things. That was his secret. No one was meant to know.

Ardyn’s gaze burned through the door. He suddenly realised what that dark pit was. The Daemons. Since Wesk and Cid started talking about Cor, they were beginning to slowly cover his rational train of thought and were trying to take over his mind. He was angry. He was furious with Cid. No. He had to remain calm. Going out there and ripping their throats out was not the answer.  

Maybe…

Before Ardyn could follow through with his plan Wesk spoke again. Voice full of pity and sorrow. “No, he wasn’t. But chasing after Cor, getting more information out of him and getting him to talk is damaging him a lot more than allowing him to move on. If you get him to talk and think about it, he is just reliving what Mors did to him. I don’t want to witness our baby brother go through that pain again. It doesn’t surprise me why he has gone off the radar. He doesn’t want us bringing it up and forcing it out of him. It’s not fair on him.”

They then fell silence. Wesk was fighting the urge to cry. He didn’t like talking about the old King. He didn’t like talking about what Cor went through at such a young age. None of them did. But he blamed himself for not realising what was going on behind his back. Behind all their backs. Cid on the other hand was trying to calm himself down. He wanted to scream and shouted and release all the negative emotions surrounded the entire ordeal. But if he did that he felt like he was letting Cor down. They had done that enough. If Cor could keep his cool whenever the form King made his way into conversation, then Cid could. He was 32 years his senior. He should be able to control his emotions.

Ardyn on the other had was failing miserly at controlling himself. He could feel his hands begin to shake. Like Cid, he was anger. He was furious. That should never have happened. It just gave him even more reason to resent the Lucis Caelum line. Mors attacked Cor and no one did anything to help him. Regis. Well, he wasn’t any better either. How could he stand by and allow the people of Lucis, to celebrate and glorify a monster? He wanted to teleport to Insomnia and give the ‘King’ and ear full. More maybe a fist full. He could hear the daemons slowly begin to talk to him. ‘ _113 th King is a good replacement for the 112th’ _and _‘He’s got to die soon anyway. What is a few years off the original plan?’_ No! He wasn’t going to listen. He had to remain calm and focused, for Cor.

Cor was the emotionless out of them all. He just continued to stare at the ground. He felt numb. He felt betrayed, hurt and punished. This was supposed to be a relaxing holiday where he didn’t have to think about Mors. He didn’t want to think what that man put him through hell. He couldn’t cry, he couldn’t move. All he could was think on what two of his closest friends had said about him. Vulnerable? A Victim? He wasn’t that. But that was all they ever saw him as now. A weak vulnerable 16 year old too frighten to speak.    

After a while Wesk spoke again in a low and calm voice. “Cid stay and have a drink. We know Cor is in Altissa and when he wants to find us he can. But don’t bring up Mors. Don’t make him push us away like he already has.”

“You’re right.”

“I know I am. Let me get back to work and I will make you nice cold strong drink. You need it on a day like today.”

“I think we all do.”

They left without another word and they were still completely unaware that Cor had only been less than a couple of feet of them the entire time.

Both Ardyn and Cor remained silent after the restroom door had shut. Cor was speechless he could not believe that both Cid and Wesk would so freely talk about that in a public toilet. It felt like they didn’t even care. Now the one person he didn’t want to find out about Mors knew. Ardyn now knew what he went through and how it had affected him. They had no right to say any of that. Cor sat on the toilet and buried his face in his hands, resting his elbows on top of his knees. He wasn’t crying but he was very nervous. Nervous what Ardyn might say. Would he have sex with him after knowing this? He would treat him differently? There was no doubt about that. That’s what he didn’t want to happen. He wanted to be the Marshal of the Crownsguard, Cor the Immortal, in Ardyn's eyes. He did not want to be seen as a scared little 16-year-old who had fought off Gilgamesh and lived. But could not defend himself against a mere man who violently attacked him whenever he deemed it fit. All Cor could hear was the sound of his own breathing and his heart rate increase. This was not how it was meant to go.

Ardyn on the other hand was burning with rage. He looked down at Cor with sorrow. He felt sorry for him. Yes, because what he went through. But mainly because his brothers betrayed him. They talked about the darkest point in Cor’s life in public. They didn’t even fucking check if anyone was in the fucking stalls. It felt like Somnus all over again. The rage manifested in his chest and he felt like he was going to explode. How dare Weskham and Cid say those things! How dare Mors do that! How dare Mors attack a child like that! Not even as twisted and manipulated Ardyn was, he would never put anyone through that.

Never.

Ardyn then knelt down on the floor in front of the Cor and placed his hands on Cor’s arms. The Chancellor didn’t speak though. He didn’t want to push him, but equally he wanted to treat Cor as had always done. Yes, it was painful what Mors did and it was painful to hear. But Cor was the only one who was truly breaking. This wasn’t fair.

They remained like this for a few minutes. Cor’s breathing become faster and he lost control of his emotions. He started to cry and didn’t want the Chancellor to see. But he was grateful that he had not removed his hands. They were giving him a sense of security. Like he was allowed to cry, and Cor knew if he asked, Ardyn would remove his hands without a moments hesitation. Cor couldn’t hide his wipers nor his sobs any longer. He was more broken hearted by what Wesk and Cid did. The fact that all of them, all four of them, thought he was vulnerable. He wasn’t. But Wesk spoke one truth. If they pushed and pushed for more information he would only push them away. He wanted to push them all way. Everyone. But not Ardyn.

“I’m so-rry.” Cor manged to say through his sobs. He didn’t want to look at the Chancellor. The Marshal of the Crownsguard crying, was not something anyone was allowed to witness.

“Don’t be sorry.” Ardyn said softly. “It’s not your fault.”

“… I didn’t… want you to know.”

“Cor. Could you look at me please?” Ardyn asked in his normal voice. Because of that Cor slowly removed his hands from his face to revealed his red, blood shot eyes. That made his crystal blue iris’ stand out even more then did already. His cheeks were wet from the salty tears and his nose was running. Still Ardyn softly smiled at him. “They shouldn’t have done that. But me knowing doesn’t make a difference. In fact, I think more highly of you. You put yourself through this every year and you still come out of it on top. You’re not weak or vulnerable Cor… You are one of the bravest person I have ever met.”

“You’re only saying that to make me feel better.” Cor wiped his cheeks with his sleeves. Trying his hardest to wipe the damage away. Who was he kidding. He was broken the day Mors attack him. What was the point in covering it any longer.

“No, I am not. I told you right at the beginning of all of this I never lie.” Ardyn said sternly. As he spoke his started to rub his hands gently on Cor’s arms. The Marshal didn’t move or tell him to stop. So, he continued to do this action as he spoke again. “Weskham and Cid are in the wrong. They should not have done that.”

“They’re my brothers-” Cor chocked on his words. It was breaking him even more than admitting to Regis and Clarus what Mors did to him. He trusted them with this and they throw it away like yesterday rubbish.

“I know. I know how painful it is when a brother betrays you… I had a little brother. He took everything from me. I know how you feel Cor. It’s okay to be angry and sad. You never need to hide those emotions from me.”

To Ardyn’s owe surprise there was no bitterness in his voice as he said that. He shook his head and focused on what was important. Cor Leonis.

“What happened to him?” Cor asked trying his hardest to forget what had happened.

“He died. We never made up. That’s not what is important at the moment. What is important is that you can make up with yours.”

“I don’t want to.” Cor sniffed again. A lumped formed in his throat. The thought of seeing Wesk and Cid was harder than talking about what happened. He looked into Ardyn’s honey eyes and gulped before talking again. “They know how I feel about Mors. They still go on and on and on. I hate it. I can’t escape it. I will never escape what he did to me.”

“Yes you will. Because you are stronger than that disgusting waste of Eos. If I was Regis, all these celebrations and memorial days would not be happening. I would erase whatever that man had done.” That time there was bitterness and hatred behind his voice. That wasn’t because of what Somnus did. No that was because what Mors did to Cor. Ardyn knew the pain of getting erased, but that man. If he could even call Mors that, should of got what Ardyn got and worse. a whole lot worse. Mors was the true monster. No one should ever attack a child. Never. If the 112th King of Lucis was still alive today. He wouldn’t be for long.

  _No. Cor is more important than giving into you lot at the moment._ Ardyn thought, speaking to the daemons inside his head, who were trying to tempt him to kill Regis as a replacement for his father. Cor would not forgive him for that. Instead he smiled at the Marshal. “Listen. You are going to calm down then we are going to go back to the hotel and we are just going to chat. It doesn’t have to be about the former King, Weskham or Cid. It can be about anything you like.”

Cor let go a small smile form that sentence. He didn’t know how the Chancellor was going to react hearing any of that. But out of all the people who found out, he was the only one to not ask if he was alright. Because it was obvious he wasn’t. All Ardyn did was let him speak and let him be himself. He wasn’t pushing and he made Cor feel safe. The Marshal wiped his eyes for one last time and nodded his head in agreement.

“Thank you.”


	3. Chapter 3

It didn’t take the pair long to walk to the hotel.

The sun was still hanging on to the sky, and the streets were mostly cleared. Quite frankly neither of them cared at this point if anyone caught them walking together. Cor was too caught up in his own emotions to even consider that this was a very stupid decision on both their parts. All he wanted to do was to go home. Be wrapped up in his bed and sleep away the damage that had been done. But instead he was stuck in Altissa for another two weeks. As they walked he remained silent and kept his gaze on the floor he didn’t want Ardyn to see the pain in his eyes.

The Chancellor allowed him the silence. He allowed him the space he needed. Ardyn knew he would never be able to understand the hurt Cor had gone through. But unlike Mr Sophiar who insisted the younger man go and see someone about it. He was content with leaving him to cope with it in his own time. Mainly because Ardyn could feel the anger build again. Just thinking about Cor’s so-called friends was breaking his level of control over the daemons. He was not going to let them out today. So, he remained silent and kept an eye on the younger man.

When they finally got to the hotel room, Cor immediately sat on the bed and sighed to himself. His hands were resting on his knees and it wasn’t hard to figure out what he wanted. Ardyn knew just from his posture and how tense he looked that Cor wanted to say something. There was no doubt in his mind he wanted to talk about Mors and what had happened. There was no chance in hell that Ardyn was going to deny him that.

The Chancellor quickly got two glasses of water and offer one to Cor. As soon as he took it Ardyn sat on the sofa that was opposite the bed and ust waited. He was not going to push him. He was not going to force the information out of him. He was just there for Cor to talk at.

It didn’t take long for that to happen. Cor sipped his water and then place it on the floor. He let go a loud and heavy sigh. He bit his lip and didn’t dare look at Ardyn as he spoke.   

 “Ardyn… Can tell you about Mors.”

“If you like.” Ardyn said in his normal care free voice. He was not going to give the Marshal a reason to not tell him. He wanted to treat him like he always had done.

Cor slowly nodded and took in a deep breath and thought to himself: _This is going to be hard_.

“When I was 15 I became a member of the King’s personal guard. As you know that doesn’t happen. No one under the age of 21 is allowed to have that honour. No one under the age of 16 is even allowed to enter the Crownsguard. But it happened. That’s really when I should have known something wasn’t right. Within a couple of months, I was allowed in the room with the King. Sometimes he would ask me questions. Like ‘How’s the training going?’ or ask about Regis. Sometimes he would tell me to summon my weapon. If, it wasn’t quick enough or sharp enough he would stand up and help me to do it better. That’s when he started to touch me. I didn’t really notice at first. It was just brushes on my back, lower back, on my legs. If I am honest he always patted people on the back. So, I didn’t think anything of it. Why would I? I was 15. But when I turned 16 that’s when it happened. I… was told to come and sit next to him. I did it without question because he was my King. We were alone and I was only there to defend him if anything happened. Anyway, we started talking and he kept putting his hand on my thigh. I couldn’t brush him off. I couldn’t ask what he was doing, it wasn’t my place. He was just acting… so normal. Like he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Then, he grabbed my chin and forced me to kiss him. By that point I didn’t know what to do. I was 16 years old and my King was forcing me to do something I didn’t want to do. I try to pull away and push him back. It didn’t work. Instead he…”

Cor paused for a moment. Ardyn did not interrupt the silence.

“He pushed me on the sofa we were sitting on and forced me down. I wasn’t naïve I knew what was going to happen. I struggled against him and said no. Repeatedly. I will never forget his response to that. He forced one hand down my trousers and the other to hold my chin. He looked directly into my eyes and said. ‘I don’t care.’ I don’t really remember much after that. Other then I kept repeated no and begging him to stop. I remember the pain and… the noises he was making.”

Cor held his breath at that. He didn’t want to remember that. He never did. He had to stop again. Like before Ardyn remained silent. Despite the internal rage building inside him, the Accused manged to calm himself just long enough for Cor to continue.

“After he finished, he told me to clean up. I did. After that night it kept happening. Every time I was the only one guarding him it would happen. Every time I was left alone with him it would happen. Sometimes… Clarus’ mother, Astrid, the former shield. She would be there. Just watching. One day. He offered for her to join in. She did. After that… both of them would hurt me. One day before my shift started I heard them talking about me. Astrid was concerned I would tell Clarus and Regis what was going on. Mors just brushed it off. That was the reason I didn’t say anything because what he said was true. ‘Who would believe a hot-headed teenager over the King and his Shield.’ So, I kept silent because he was right. No one would. It only stopped when Mors died. Astrid didn’t speak to me after that. In fact, she kept her distance. I guess she was scared I might have told Clarus and Regis what had happened. She died not long after that. Actually, within a few mouths of Mors death. I had two years of hell. Mors… every time I hear his name I want to be sick.”

As Cor was finishing his sentence, his legs were shaking, and his voice had turned into a whisper. He still refused to look at Ardyn. He placed his hands between his legs and started to rub them together. He didn’t know how Ardyn was going to react to that. He didn’t know if he wanted Ardyn to react at all. But it was out now. He knew. That was the important thing. The elephant in the room was gone.

The wined haired man didn’t allow the silence to settle long. Yes, he was fighting an ongoing tug of war of control with the daemons. But he had to treat Cor like he had always done. He didn’t smile. He nodded and spoke carefully. “I have met and known many monsters Cor. But Mors has just won the prize for being the worse.”

“I can’t escape it.”

“You will. It doesn’t matter how long it takes Cor you will.” Ardyn lent forward as he spoke. At this angle he was less than a foot away from the Marshal. Which allowed Cor space to move if needed.

Co finally looked up with pain in his eyes. Looking at Ardyn wasn’t as painful and daunting as he first thought. All he could see was fire in his honey like eyes. It gave him comfort more than anything else. His legs stopped shaking and he stopped his hands from fidgeting. Somehow those honey eyes gave him the courage to carry on speaking. “It’s just hard. Especially when the people who are supposed to have your back think you are still a frighten 16-year-old who couldn’t def-”

“Don’t think like that. They clearly care. I do not think that they’re ways of showing it work, to be perfectly honest. You need to tell them you know what they said though.”

“I don’t want to see or be near them.” Cor gritted his teeth together. He was angry and hurt about what had happened. He felt like he could never trust Cid or Wesk again for that. They didn’t even look in the bloody stalls. Anyone could have heard that anyone.

At that thought he buried his face in his hands again. He wasn’t going to cry again. He wasn’t going to cry over that man anymore. He wasn’t. Cor then felt the bed dip a little and a hand slowly being to rub his back. It was nice. He could feel the tension and the stress slowly begin to leave him as Ardyn continued to do this action. Cor removed his hands and looked to his left to see Ardyn give him a soft smile. This was tough. But Ardyn he… he was just being himself. Cor needed that right now. A sense of normality to the already heart aching day.  

 Cor then lent closer to the Chancellor and whispered in a very low tone. “Can you… kiss me.”

“Yes.” Ardyn said and brushed his lips against the Marshal’s. It only lasted for a second, but it didn’t need to last any longer. He breathed out and then rested his forehead against the younger mans. “Knowing this. It doesn’t change a thing. The only issue we have is that you fight for Lucis and I rule Niflheim.”

“It sounds easier to sort out then what had happened in the past.” Cor said moving away from him again. The Chancellor had stopped rubbing his back and placed his hands in his lap copying the Marshal actions. His smile then began to fade and he braced himself for what he was about to say.

“We all have dark past Cor. It is just the brave few who can accept it and want to move on.”

“You haven’t?”

“I wish I could.” Ardyn rolled his eyes at that, thinking: _if the fucking dragon would let me die I could_. “My brother didn’t just betray me. He took everything from me. He isolated me from the family and didn’t stop until everyone tried, or forgot who I was. I loved my brother more than anything. I would have died for him a long time ago. Can you imagine, the one person you love more than anything else in this entire the world destroying you like that… it’s not something you can easily forgive.”

“Sorry you had to go through that.” Cor stated flatly.

That wasn’t something he had expected to come out of Ardyn’s mouth. The flamboyant Chancellor was the life of the party. Not giving a shit about anyone or anything. Here he was explaining the pain he had gone though. It was a rare sight. The Immortal Accused and Cor the Immortal, were expressing their feelings.

“Well I am sorry that the former King and his Shield put you though that.” Ardyn respond in the same tone.

“Life sucks.”

“You have no idea.” Ardyn laughed lightly at his own joke. There was one thing plaguing his mind though. He shouldn’t ask. He knew he shouldn’t. But curiosity killed the cat and he couldn’t help himself. “How did you tell Regis and Clarus about what happened?”

Cor nodded. What else did he have to lose right?

“After Astrid died, three council members came to Regis. Said that Mors had… raped them. Two men and one woman. After about a year, another three more people from the Crownsguard came forward. I was 20 years old at the time. Regis, Clarus and Weskham were talking about it. Regis was getting upset. I wanted to say something but every time I went to open my mouth nothing would come out. That was until Wesk asked how old the youngest person he attacked was. With all the information they had, they came to the conclusion it was an 18-year-old. They were wrong. Before I even realised it. I said ‘ _No. You’re wrong. The youngest was 16_.’ I didn’t need to look up to see the horror on they’re faces. They knew just from that what had happened. But it seems I was the only person his shield every joined in with.”

“At least they found out.”

Cor nodded again. He felt awkward asking. But he had to know as much as Ardyn had to know how Regis found out. Even with his emotions blocking out his senses and rationality, he could sense a hint of danger with asking Ardyn such a personal question. But he decided to do it anyway. “What about your brother? Did you tell anyone about him?”

Ardyn laughed again. This time much louder and unforgiving. It confused Cor a bit. He even considered that he might not be getting an answer after that. But to his surprise he did.

“No one cared. They believed him. He said that I was insane. That I had become twisted and evil. Everyone, including my ex-wife turned on me. Somnus. He even took her from me. He took everything I had. So, no. I didn’t say anything or tell anyone.” Ardyn voice was filled to the brim with bitterness.

Cor could hear the pure hatred that mask his voice and he wonder if it was a sensible idea even bringing it up. But like Ardyn he was never one to back down once he started it. Instead made light of the situation.

“Your brother sounds like a twat.”

“Oh, you’ve met him?”

They both laughed at that. It had been a long day. A hard, long, exhausting one. One that neither, The Chancellor of Niflheim or the Marshal of the Crownsguard would like to repeat. The day still wasn’t over. The sun was still clinging on to the sky, even as the night started to draw in closer. The terrors that awaited in the night were slowly starting to creep from there hiding places. But to the two men nothing could be as terrifying or harmful then their own pasts. The past that they had to deal with on their own.

In time one of them would. The Marshal of the Crownsguard would be able to look back at what Mors did and come to terms with it. Accept it for what it was and move on. Not allow it to affect, his relationships with his friends and family. Nor allow it to affect his work and determination to keep Lucis safe.

Whereas Ardyn would continue to cling on to the hatred that had brewed deep inside of him for these long 2000 years. Allowing it to fester and linger until his task of ending the dawn, and rise of the King of Light, was completed.

But for now. The pair just talked. Talked about each other. For now, and only now, would they allow themselves to opened up to each other and be what they never truly allow themselves to be.

Ardyn Izunia and Cor Leonis.


End file.
